How to Read Literature Like a Professor

And Rarely Just Illness...

- Not all diseases are created equal: Some are worse than others. - It should be picturesque. - It should be mysterious in origin. - It should have strong symbolic or metaphorical possibilities. (Example: Tuberculosis was a wasting disease, both in terms of the individual wasting away, growing thinner and thinner, and in terms of the waste of lives that were often barely under way.

If She Comes Up, It's Baptism

Both drowinging and baptism can be a representation of rebirth in which the character wants to do. "The characters' death are a form of choosing, of exerting control in a society that has taken control from them".

Yes, She's a Christ Figure, Too

Christ like figures can represent sacrifie, redemtion, and hope. Though a character may not have the physical characteristics of Jesus, but they may possess many or some qualities of him.

...More Than It's Gonna Hurt You: Concering Violence

In literature, violence is usually a metaphor for something deeper. Violence can be caused by other charaacters like a shooting or poisioning, or it can be completely out of the character's hands like an illness, but the writer always writes something intentionally.

Is He Serious? And Other Ironies

Irony always trumps everything and it when irony comes into play all common themes are thrown out of the window.

How'd He Do That

Literary work have a particular grammer which is a "set of conventions and patterns, codes and rules" found in literature It determends the set up and meaning of a literary work. Three items are particualry evident to professors.. Memory-they can easily recall a similar event/idea/topic brought up in a different literary work Pattern- they are able to step back from the plot and characters to notice common patterns found in the writing Symbol-everything is a symbol unless proven otherwise

Marked For Greatness

Markings and signs can seperate a character from all the others, a clear marking showing that they are different and, in the eyes some, destined to do something important. Physical markings are usually for some psychological or thematic reason.

Every Trip is a Quest (Except When it's Not)

No matter how small or seemingly insignificant, every trip becomes an important quest for the protagonist. A quest consists of 1) A Quester 2) A place to go 3) A stated reason to go there 4) Challeneges and trials en route 5) A real reason to go there Ususally the "quester" fails at the stated task but they always gain one thing, self-knowledge.

Geography Matters...

Places can represent safety, like the suburbs, or they can represent craziness and wilderness like a jungle. The setting of the story can affect the actions of the character. Highs and lows (hills an vallys for example) are commonly used by writers to represent different thing ranging fomr purity and clear views to death and unpleasantness

It More Than Just Rain or Snow

Rain NEVER means rain Rain can be used as a plot device, add dramatic affect to a scene, or even "clense" a character. Fog decribes uncertainty and hazy thinking. The weather can represent many things and have ranging symbols.

...Or the Bible

Similar to Shakespeare, writers commonly refrence the bible. The bible, like Shakespeare, is easily identifiable even by people who have not read ether.

...So Does Season

Spring: childhood, youth Summer: adulthood, romance, fullfillment, passion Fall: decline, middleage,tiredness, harvest Winter: old age, resnetment, death

Nice to Eat with You: Act of Communion

Though communion usually has a religious connotation to it, in literaturer whenever people eat or drink together it is considered communion. People need food to survive and sharing a meal is a way of bringing people together, but when a meal ends badly it shows tentions and negativity.

Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before?

Though some people have a natural ability to pin point hidden secrets in literature, most people just need a little practice. Stories do not just come out of nowhere and though it may be done unintentionally, writers use prior literary workes to create their own. Foster believes that there is only on story in the world, one that all works are apart.

Nice to Eat You: Act of Vampires

Vampirism can be about selfishness, exploitation, or even a refusal to respect the autonomy of other people. Ghosts and vampires never represent ghosts and vampires, instead scary things symboliz various aspects of our more common reality. Novels depict people's willingness to fight for their desires at any cost no matter how selfish it may actually be.